Land and Food Resources

Postgraduate programs in Geography

GeographyGeography at Melbourne is among the top-ranking programs of its kind in Australia and New Zealand. Academic staff enjoy international reputations for their scholarship and engage in collaborative research and consultancies with local and international colleagues. This setting enables postgraduate students in geography to gain practical and relevant experience informed by dedicated staff with the latest knowledge available in the field. A variety of prospective career pathways exist for students of geography who will continue to draw on the analytical skills they acquire in pursuing further professional or personal interests in this field. Alternatively, students are able to expand on their interest and knowledge through an articulated structure of higher degree coursework and research programs at Melbourne.

The postgraduate program in geography allows students the flexibility to pursue interdisciplinary studies in these areas while gaining an essential grounding in the core discipline of geography. Geography seeks to understand the range of environmental and spatial processes that shape the world around us. The intellectual focus of geography is summarised by the following key terms: space, place, landscape, scale and environment. Geography brings to this general set of interests, expertise that spans both the social and physical sciences. Geography provides particular insights into the way in which societies and the people who comprise them are built and embedded in physical environments, spatial relations and place contingencies.

 

Postgraduate coursework programs

Postgraduate Research StudiesThe School of Resource Management and Geography offers access to undergraduate Geography subjects via the Graduate Certificate in Arts (Geography) and the Graduate Diploma in Arts (Geography). These programs aim to provide a general understanding of key concepts and issues in geography. The Faculty of Land and Food Resources handles admissions to these programs. Geography subjects can also be taken via the University's Community Access Program (CAP).

Graduates from other institutions who have majored in Geography are eligible to apply for the Postgraduate Diploma in Arts (Geography) which is equivalent to the Honours program and provides a pathway to higher degree research for students who have not completed a four year BA (Honours) with a research component in Geography. For more information, please visit Faculty of Arts Future Students website.

 

Official descriptions of the programs are also listed in the University Postgraduate Catalogue:

Graduate Certificate in Arts (Geography)

Graduate Diploma in Arts (Geography)

Postgraduate Diploma in Arts (Geography)

 

Research only degrees

ResearchResearch only options include the Master of Arts in Geography and the Master of Science in Geography. The Masters degree is designed for students to develop advanced skills in carrying out independent and sustained research. Students produce a 30 000-word thesis dealing with an area of geography and demonstrating the ability to present a coherent hypothesis on an issue in geography, supported by research and analysis.

 

The major research degree offered by the University of Melbourne in Geography is the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program. This is administered by the Melbourne School of Graduate research and requires the completion of a thesis of about 80 000 words.

 

Supervision is currently available in the following areas:

 

Contact

Specific enquiries regarding course content, thesis topics and supervision

Dr Wayne Stephenson
School of Social and Environmental Enquiry
The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010 Australia
T: 03 8344 9168
E: wjs@unimelb.edu.au

 

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